Читать книгу History of Westchester County, New York, Volume 3 - Группа авторов - Страница 26

James Hopkins, of Armonk, Westchester county, was born March 1, 1830, in the county in which he now lives and in which he has made his home to the present time. He traces his ancestry back in a direct line to England and to the year 1616.

Thomas Hopkins, a son of William and Joanna (Arnold) Hopkins, was born in England, April 7, 1616, and came to Providence, Rhode Island, about 1640. He had three sons. With his daughter-in-law and her two children he removed to Little Neck, near Musketo Cove, now called Glen Cove, Long Island, and died there in 1684. His children were Ichabod, who married Sarah Coles and died in 1726, leaving children: Thomas, who married Margaret Pine in 1738; Daniel, who married Anny Weeks; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Benjamin Birdsall in 1734; Ann, who never married; and Sarah, who became the wife of Joseph Merritt in 1736.

Thomas, the son of Ichabod, moved to the town of North Castle, New York, about the year 1740. The children of Thomas and his wife Margaret were Thomas, Daniel, Benjamin, Margaret, Naomy and Ann. Thomas, the son of Thomas, was born in 1740, and married, January 14, 1767, Zeruiah Palmer, according to the rules of order of the Society of Friends, at their meeting-house in the Purchase, and to them six children were born, namely: James, born October 14, 1767, married Mary Tripp and died August 29, 1859; Elizabeth, born June 5, 1769, married Job Cox and died September 30, 1828; Samuel, born June 8, 1771, died September 1, 1828; Mary, who was born August 14, 1773, died unmarried, December 5, 1825; Thomas, Jr., who was born June 27, 1783, died July 17, 1837; and Pine, who was born February 14, 1786, married Hannah Tripp and died August 29, 1856.

James Hopkins, the first, married Mary Tripp, and to them were born two sons, — John and Alfred. The latter married Mary Brower, and their union was blessed in the birth of one child, Eleanor, who is now living at Stamford, Connecticut. John T. Hopkins married Hannah Dayton, a native of the same county in which he was born and a daughter of David and Martha (Wood) Dayton. This worthy couple became the parents of five children, viz.: Alexander, deceased; Ed. R., also deceased; James, the subject of this sketch; Josephine, deceased; and Mary Elizabeth, who married William Ireland. Their father was a merchant and a farmer, and died in 1868, at the age of seventy-six years; their mother lived to be sixty years of age. She was a member of the Episcopal church.

After reaching manhood James Hopkins turned his attention to merchandising, and from 1857 to 1880 kept a general store. He has for years been more or less interested in political matters, and has filled a number of positions of prominence and trust in his township. His first presidential vote was cast for John C. Fremont, in 1856, and he has ever since given his support to the Republican party. Among the offices tendered to him by his party are those of postmaster, which position he accepted and filled for twenty-three years; town supervisor, twelve years, and was chairman of the board the last year of his service; and township clerk and justice of the peace. He resides upon a farm near Armonk, where he has a pleasant and attractive home, which he is pleased to call Brookside.

In 1850 Mr. Hopkins married Miss Mary J. Smith, a daughter of Abram and Caroline Smith. Her father was a well-known and popular citizen of Westchester county and has long been deceased. Their happy union lasted for a period of twenty-six years and ended with her death in 1876, — the great loss in Mr. Hopkins' life. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the five children born to them only two are living, — Edwin R. and Abram S. The deceased were Josephine, Carrie and James Warren. Both his sons are married and settled in life. Edwin R. married Miss Cornelia Davis, and they have two children, — Floyd and Edwin. Abram S. married Miss Anna Flewellin, and five children were born to them: Mary I., who died in 1897, Niles, Eulalia, Gertrude and A. Josephine.

Since 1881 Mr. Hopkins had devoted his energies to the mastery of the business of farming, the most ennobling employment in the world, but finds that he commenced too late in life to realize the best results. For a number of years he has been a member of the board of managers of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Westchester, county, of which he has been president for the last two years. He has long been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Armonk, and as a member of the building committee assisted in the erection of the new church edifice, which is one of the attractions of the village, and he has held the office of trustee of the society for many years.